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Idle Roomers (1944 film)
Encyclopedia
Idle Roomers is the 80th short subject
starring American slapstick
comedy team the Three Stooges
. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures
between 1934 and 1959.
The Stooges are bellhops at Hotel Snazzy Plaza, and pound each other in order to get some face time with an attractive woman (the lovely Christine McIntyre
, in her debut appearance with the team). Unfortunately, she has a mean-tempered husband (Vernon Dent
) who happens to excel in knife throwing. The husband is also secretly importing Lupe the Wolf Man (Duke York
) who goes berserk when he hears music. Later on, when Curly is cleaning their room, he snaps on the radio, and the wolf man goes on the rampage.
's voice begins to deepen with this film. Since his 1940 divorce from Elaine Ackerman, Curly had lived a wild life, making merry on a regular basis, and drinking until the wee hours of the morning. Columbia cinematographer
Henry Freulich stated in a 1984 interview that it was not unusual to see Curly stumbling into work looking like "he had himself a heluva time!" By 1944, the effects of Curly's lifestyle began to catch up with him. Idle Roomers marks the first time his acting seems a little slower. The deeper voice confirms this assessment.
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
starring American slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedy team the Three Stooges
Three Stooges
The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the early to mid–20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. Their hallmark was physical farce and extreme slapstick. In films, the Stooges were commonly known by their first names: "Moe, Larry, and Curly" and "Moe,...
. The trio made a total of 190 shorts for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
between 1934 and 1959.
Synopsis
Christine McIntyre
Christine Cecilia McIntyre was an actress who appeared in many movies in the 1930s and 1940s but is mainly known as the beautiful blonde actress who appeared in many Three Stooges shorts produced by Columbia Pictures....
, in her debut appearance with the team). Unfortunately, she has a mean-tempered husband (Vernon Dent
Vernon Dent
Vernon Bruce Dent was a comic actor who appeared in over 400 films in his career. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil to the Three Stooges.-Early career:...
) who happens to excel in knife throwing. The husband is also secretly importing Lupe the Wolf Man (Duke York
Duke York
Duke York was an American film actor. Born in Danby, New York, York was born Charles Everest Sinsabaugh...
) who goes berserk when he hears music. Later on, when Curly is cleaning their room, he snaps on the radio, and the wolf man goes on the rampage.
Curly fades
Curly HowardCurly Howard
Jerome Lester "Jerry" Horwitz , better known by his stage name Curly Howard, was an American comedian and vaudevillian. He is best known as a member of the American slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges, along with his older brothers Moe Howard and Shemp Howard, and actor Larry Fine...
's voice begins to deepen with this film. Since his 1940 divorce from Elaine Ackerman, Curly had lived a wild life, making merry on a regular basis, and drinking until the wee hours of the morning. Columbia cinematographer
Cinematographer
A cinematographer is one photographing with a motion picture camera . The title is generally equivalent to director of photography , used to designate a chief over the camera and lighting crews working on a film, responsible for achieving artistic and technical decisions related to the image...
Henry Freulich stated in a 1984 interview that it was not unusual to see Curly stumbling into work looking like "he had himself a heluva time!" By 1944, the effects of Curly's lifestyle began to catch up with him. Idle Roomers marks the first time his acting seems a little slower. The deeper voice confirms this assessment.